general education

ZHENG Liren¹, ONG Mui Hong², Alex E. Y. LEE¹, Esther GOH Chor Leng¹, KANG Chul Hee³, SIM Qin Ying⁴, Anne CHONG Suet Lin⁵, Kenneth CHONG⁶, KOH Hui Li⁷, Pamela YEH⁸, Raiza RIFAAIE⁹, and CHENG Yuan Wen¹

¹*Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)
²NUS Provost’s Office
³Yonsei University
⁴Communities and Engagement Pillar, NUS Provost’s Office
⁵Course Lead, GEN2061
⁶Course Lead, GEN2060
⁷Course Lead, GEN2062
⁸Course Lead, GEN2070
⁹Course Lead, GEN2050

*z.liren@nus.edu.sg

We acknowledge the support, guidance, and oversight from Professor Peter Ho,
Vice-Provost (Undergraduate Education & Technology-Enhanced Learning), NUS

Zheng, L., Ong, M. H., Lee, A. E. Y., Goh, E. C. L., Kang, C. H., Sim, Q. Y., Chong, A. S. L., Chong, K., Koh, H. L., Yeh, P., Rifaaie, R., & Cheng, Y. W. (2023). Teaching service – NUS Communities and Engagement pillar: Reflections on a journey in progress [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. Zheng, L., Ong, M. H., Lee, A. E. Y., Goh, E. C. L., Kang, C. H., Sim, Q. Y., Chong, A. S. L., Chong, K., Koh, H. L., Yeh, P., Rifaaie, R., & Cheng, Y. W. (2023). Teaching service – NUS Communities and Engagement pillar: Reflections on a journey in progress [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/teaching-service-nus-communities-and-engagement-pillar-reflections-on-a-journey-in-progress/

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education 

KEYWORDS

Service-learning, general education, communities, volunteering, social services

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

ABSTRACT

In 2021, the National University of Singapore (NUS) embarked on a journey to re-think General Education (GE) for all undergraduates and prepare them for a fast-changing world. One of the new initiatives was to include a Communities and Engagement (C&E) Pillar. C&E aims to deepen a sense of social responsibility and social action among students through service learning.

To achieve these outcomes, NUS utilises service-learning as a form of teaching and learning in C&E. Service-learning has been found to be associated with positive outcomes in development of empathy, civic consciousness, social skills, and academic achievement. Well-designed service-learning increases the likelihood that students will engage with the communities they encounter, engage in dialogue and problem-solving, and become part of the solution to a variety of social issues.

Research suggests that university leadership is key to a successful service-learning programme, and this support contributes to better outcomes for both the students and the community. To that end, NUS has invested considerable leadership, manpower, and financial resources into a structured service-learning programme that ensures positive learning outcomes for students while also meeting real community needs identified by relevant agency partners.

NUS C&E Type A courses offer a structured programme with equal focus on both classroom learning and service work. The classroom learning is anchored by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences’ (FASS) Department of Social Work (SW), while the service work component is helmed by the NUS Provost’s Office (PVO). These courses require students to undergo e-learning lectures and tutorials in preparation for service-learning prior to being deployed to their respective agencies for service-work. When nearing the completion of service-work, students return for a final tutorial to consolidate their learning and reflections, in addition to academic assignments. Operational matters such as liaison with social service agencies, placement of students, managing issues and challenges on the ground are led by staff from PVO.

This model differs from volunteering through students’ own initiatives. It requires strong leadership from the university, tight collaboration between SW and PVO, with SW contributing its professional knowledge of community engagement and PVO its operational expertise.

This paper presents the development and initial evaluation results of the two pilot trials (Pilot 1a, N = 208, Pilot 1b, N = 561) of the C&E Pillar Type A service-work courses.

The stages of development of the C&E pillar will be discussed, including preparation for pilots 1a and 1b. The presentation will outline the strategies that NUS has taken to create and manage the service partnerships with ministries, agencies, and their community partners to create five courses spanning the three key sectors of support for disadvantaged school children, families in rental neighbourhoods, and senior citizens. Efforts to develop engaging lessons for students to prepare them with the necessary knowledge and skills for service-learning will also be discussed.

Student surveys were conducted before, during, and after their service-work was completed to understand their experiences of service-learning. These surveys focused on evaluating students’ motivations for volunteering as well as their satisfaction levels for their service-learning experience. In addition, students were also invited to focus group discussions for further in-depth discussion on their learning and experience. In addition, a survey with agency supervisors is being conducted to understand their experience of the various aspects of working with NUS. Supervisors will also be invited to a focus group discussion for the research team to collect further data to evaluate our collaborations.

While data collection is still ongoing, preliminary findings revealed students’ gains in their exposure to real world issues through service learning and especially the opportunities to observe the challenges faced by service beneficiaries, allowed students to be grounded in their thinking about social issues and how they could contribute to alleviating them.

Going forward, NUS will be deploying a large volunteer force into the social service sector in unprecedented numbers. This requires tight coordination to synergise processes between NUS and the various external stakeholders. Supporting the large number of students deployed and managing their expectations while out in the field would also require considerable effort from faculty and teaching staff from NUS. These challenges require constant deliberation and calibration to achieve the desired outcomes for NUS students and for Singapore.

REFERENCES

Communities and Engagement Pillar. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://www.nus.edu.sg/registrar/academic-information-policies/undergraduate-students/general-education/communities-and-engagement-pillar

Celio, C. I., Durlak, J., & Dymnicki, A. (2011). A Meta-analysis of the Impact of Service-Learning on Students. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(2), 164–81. https://doi.org/10.5193/JEE34.2.164

Gordon, C. S., Pink, M. A., Rosing, H., & Mizzi, S. (2022). A systematic meta-analysis and meta-synthesis of the impact of service-learning programs on university students’ empathy. Educational Research Review, 37, 100490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2022.100490

Holmes, K., Paull, M., Haski-Leventhal, D., MacCallum, J., Omari, M., Walker, G., Scott, R., Young, S., & Maher, A. (2021). A continuum of University student volunteer programme models. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 43(3), 281–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2020.1804658

Jacoby, B. (2015). Service-learning essentials: Questions, answers, and lessons learned (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Service learning and greater flexibility for incoming undergraduates at NUS. (n.d.). Service Learning and Greater Flexibility for Incoming Undergraduates at NUS. Retrieved June 12, 2023, from https://news.nus.edu.sg/service-learning-and-greater-flexibility-for-incoming-undergraduates-at-nus/